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Zbigniew Rau is a Polish professor of law, academic, and politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from August 2020 until December 2023. A member of the Law and Justice (PiS) party, he previously held positions as Voivode (governor) of the Łódź Province from 2015 to 2019 and as a senator during the 6th term of the Polish Senate from 2005 to 2007. Rau’s tenure as foreign minister coincided with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, during which he advocated for intensified sanctions against Moscow and coordinated international responses to the aggression. As Poland’s 2022 Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), he prioritized addressing threats to European security amid escalating tensions with Russia.
Prior to his national roles, Rau built a career in academia, graduating from the University of Łódź in 1977, earning a PhD in 1982, and obtaining a post-doctoral degree in law in 1996; he has taught at universities in Poland and abroad while chairing the Alexis de Tocqueville Center for Political and Legal Thought at the University of Łódź. His early involvement in the Solidarity movement in 1980 underscored his commitment to democratic transitions in Poland. Currently, Rau serves as a deputy in the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish Parliament, where he chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee.
